Mart Duggan - Life As A Gunman and Lawman

Life As A Gunman and Lawman

In the Spring of 1878, Duggan entered Leadville, Colorado, then a bustling mining town. At first, Duggan was mistaken for having been Sanford "Sam" Duggan, a bully who had terrorized several mining towns a decade earlier, due to the similarity in names. However, there were some present in town who were aware that Sam Duggan had been lynched in 1868, in Denver, Colorado, thus the confusion was cleared up.

On February 12, 1878, Horace Austin Warner Tabor, destined to later be one of America's wealthiest men, was elected mayor. At its founding in 1877, Leadville had some 300 residents, mostly miners. A mere one year later, by the time Duggan arrived, the town boasted a population near to 15,000. T. H. Harrison was appointed as the towns first Marshal, to quell the towns rising violent crime rate. Harrison, although thought to have a fearsome reputation, was beaten and ran out of town a mere two days after his appointment.

Mayor Tabor then appointed George O'Connor as Marshal, and for one months time O'Connor did a commendable job. However, he was shot and killed less than five weeks after his appointment by one of his own deputies, Deputy Marshall James M. "Tex" Bloodsworth, on April 25, 1878, after O'Connor reprimanded Bloodsworth for spending too much time in saloons. Bloodsworth then fled on a horse he stole, and was never seen again in Leadville.

Mayor Tabor called an emergency session of the town council, and appointed Mart Duggan to replace O'Connor. Immediately Duggan began to receive threats that he could either leave town, or be killed. That same day, Duggan was called to the Tontine Restaurant due to a rowdy crowd of miners. He stood his ground against them, and backed them down. Although his first altercation had been successful, witnesses would later claim that they felt it would be short-lived.

Duggan immediately began ousting any he believed to affect his abilities at policing the town. His first order of business was to fire any deputies he suspected of being too friendly toward the criminal elements. He then walked into the office of the municipal magistrate, said to be too lenient in his judgements, informing him that he also was being "fired". When the magistrate objected, saying the marshal had no authority, Duggan pulled his gun, and escorted the magistrate out of town. Duggan then hand picked a replacement, and held court for six days, passing down sentences. The disposed magistrate later apologized to Duggan, and on his promise to do better in the future, he returned to his post. Although completely illegal and improper, Duggan's tactics were effective, and were tolerated by the townspeople. He killed two men during this period, both in saloon shootings.

In late May, 1878, Duggan arrested August Rische, one of the wealthiest mine owners in Colorado at the time, for drunken disorderly. When Rische resisted, Duggan beat him over the head with his pistol. Rische was a friend to Mayor Tabor, who came to the jail to protest his arrest. However, Duggan did not back down, and Rische remained in jail until Duggan saw fit to release him. Later that same month, Duggan was called to the Pioneer Saloon, due to a disturbance in progress.

Miners John Elkins (a Black man) and Charlie Hines were quarrelling over a pot at a poker game. A fight ensued, and Elkins stabbed Hines with a knife, then fled. Two of Duggan's deputies quickly located Elkins and arrested him without incident. However, when word spread that Hines was dying, racial hatred began to spread throughout the town, and a lynch mob was formed. Duggan ran to head off the mob, who was headed for the jail. Cocking a revolver in each hand, he informed them he would kill the first man who took another step forward. The mob, numbering no less than 100 men, dissipated. Hines eventually did recover from his wound. Elkins was found to have acted in self defense, and fled town immediately upon his release.

Duggan was dismissed from duty as Marshal after a February, 1879 drinking binge. But was quickly reinstated when it became obvious no one could replace him at that time, given the towns rowdy status. On March 10, 1879, Bill and Jim Bush, businessmen and also friends to Mayor Tabor, became involved in a dispute on a vacant lot with Mortimer Arbuckle, another businessman who had evidently set up his small shanty shack business on a lot belonging to the Bush brothers. In the heat of a physical exchange, Jim Bush pulled a pistol and shot Arbuckle, killing him. Arbuckle was unarmed, and was well liked in town. Another mob formed, intent on burning the hotel owned by Bill Bush, and hanging Jim Bush. Duggan again backed down the mob, and arrested Jim Bush for murder. By dawn the next day, it was apparent that trouble was again brewing, so Duggan took Jim Bush, under guard, to Denver, for safe keeping until trial. Leadville businessman G. W. Bartlett would later claim years later, "There was not a braver man in camp", speaking of Duggan.

Duggan left the Marshal's position for Leadville in April, 1879, when his term expired, stating he wished to move to Flint, Michigan with his wife. He was replaced by Pat Kelly, another Irishman, but Kelly lacked the abilities and raw aggression that Duggan possessed, and within months the town of Leadville had reverted to its former rowdy state. Gangs of hoodlums began taking over businesses and city property at gun point, led by Edward Frodsham, from Brigham, Utah. Frodsham was known to have killed a man named John Peasley in Wyoming, after Peasley became involved in an affair with Frodsham's wife. Sentenced to ten years in prison, he was released after only two.

Frodsham was a jeweler by trade, but had a fearsome temper, and was good with a gun. On August 8, 1879, Frodsham and friend Lee Landers, the latter an escaped convict, became involved in a gunfight in Laramie, Wyoming with two men inside Susie Parker's brothel, killing a cattle dealer named Jack Taylor. Frodsham was wounded by two bullets in the gunfight, and was arrested, but posted bail. Frodsham then moved to Leadville, and the same month of his arrival, on December 29, 1879, he shot and killed Peter Thams, a Laramie resident, after the latter argued with him over the Taylor shooting. Marshal Kelly, perhaps out of fear, refused to arrest Frodsham for the murder. Lake County, Colorado Deputy Sheriff Edmund H. Watson, however, stepped in and did arrest Frodsham. Vigilantes stormed the jail and took both Frodsham and outlaw Patrick Stewart out of the jail two days later, and lynched them.

With the town totally out of control, the council fired Pat Kelly, and sent for Mart Duggan once again. Duggan returned in late December, 1879, and immediately fired all of Kelly's deputies, hiring men of his own choosing. He then went about arresting any he believed to be causing problems, including local thugs "Big Ed" Burns, "Slim Jim" Bruce, J. J. Harlan, as well as well known gunman Billy Thompson, brother to gunfighter Ben Thompson. By April, 1880, Leadville was again under control and Duggan again refused reappointment. He was replaced by Ed Watson, whose arrest of Frodsham had gained him respect in and around the town.